Assessing competency for informed consent with mentally retarded minors.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Adolescent↗
Biomedical subjects
M C Silva
Publications and source records attributed to M C Silva.
Bancroftian filariasis in two urban areas of Recife, Brasil: the role of individual risk factors.
Bancroftian filariasis is spreading in towns of endemic areas in Recife, northeastern Brazil, where it is a major public health problem. This paper deals with the prevalence of microfilaraemia and filarial disease in two urban areas of Recife, studying their association with individual characteristics and variables related to the exposure to the vectors. The parasitologic survey was performed through a "door-to-door" census and microfilaraemia was examined by the thick-drop technique using 45 microliters of peripheral blood collected between 20:00 and 24:00 o'clock. 2,863 individuals aged between 5 and 65 years were interviewed and submitted to clinical examination. Males aged between 15 and 44 years old presented the greatest risk of being microfilaraemic. Microfilaraemia was also significantly associated with no use of bednet to sleep. The risk of being microfilaraemic was greater among those who had lived in the studied areas for more than 5 years. The overall disease prevalence was 6.3%. Males presented the greatest risk of developing acute disease. The risk of developing chronic manifestations was also greater among males and increased with age. We found no association between time of residence, bednet use, microfilaraemia and acute and chronic disease. We may conclude that in endemic areas there are subgroups of individuals who has a higher risk of being microfilariae carriers due to different behaviours in relation to vector contact.
Adolescent↗
Evaluation of the effect of sulphametoxazole and trimethoprim in patients with Machado-Joseph disease.
The treatment of Machado-Joseph disease (MJD) has so far been purely symptomatic. Encouraged by previous publications reporting some improvement in spasticity and gait in two patients with MJD treated with sulphamethoxazole and trimethoprim (Bactrim), we carried out a double-blind, placebo controlled cross-over trial in eight patients. Three kinds of parameters were used to evaluate the treatment effect: subjective performance, neurological examination and timed tests. The results showed that Bactrim had a beneficial effect on gait and coordination and that it would be worthwhile undertaking other trials, taking into account the great clinical variability of MJD.
Adult↗
Air quality inside the passenger compartment of a bus.
The indoor air quality in the passenger compartment of an intercity bus is studied. A system used for the remotion of the contaminants from the compartment, based on an extraction duct, was projected using a simple, unidimensional flow model with capability to predict the air exchange rate as a function of the vehicle velocity. Some tests using tracer gan methods were performed in a real vehicle with the contaminant remotion system mounted, in order to validate the calculation model and evaluate the performances of the system. A good agreement between the predicted and the experimental results was verified and the obtained air exchange rate was quite reasonable when compared with the former situation, without extraction duct.
Air Pollution, Indoor↗